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Summary of the impact

The group's forensic research into housing energy and carbon performance
has established the existence of "performance gap" between designed energy
performance and that achieved in completed dwellings. This seminal work
has led to revisions in Building Regulations, shaped Government policy on
zero carbon housing standards and is enabling the house building industry,
including its supply chain, to re-evaluate technology and processes.
Considerable benefit will flow from government and industry actions to
close the gap, leading to the realisation of significant reductions in
greenhouse gas emissions, improved processes & technology, improved
skills & knowledge, lower energy bills and more comfortable homes.

Underpinning research

The origins of this work lie in a review by Bell and Lowe of the energy
efficiency regulatory standards for the 21st century. The
review, undertaken for Joseph Rowntree Foundation and the Office of the
Deputy Prime Minister established the importance of not only raising
standards but also establishing the extent to which improved standards
could be achieved in main-stream house building.

This work led to a number of housing field studies aimed at understanding
the issues involved in the production of low energy/carbon housing. The
key underpinning studies are set out below:

An investigation of the implementation of Part L robust details
undertaken for CLG from 2003 to 2005 (Bell et al. 2005). This project
established through a series of design and construction site studies a
wide range of design and construction defects that would lead to energy
and condensation underperformance. Subsequent hygrothermal modelling
work at UCL confirmed an increased risk of surface and interstitial
condensation as a result of insulation placement and other defects. The
field work also identified significant issues relating to levels of
understanding, skills and design & construction processes.

The Stamford Brook Field trial (Wingfield et al., 2011), conducted
from 2001 to 2008, was an action research study of the implementation of
advanced regulatory standards. It involved a partnership between two
major house builders, the National Trust and CLG in the construction of
a large housing development of some 700 dwellings. This was probably the
first study that measured not only the extent of energy underperformance
but also identified many of the technological and process issues that
explained the performance observed. Of particular significance was the
characterisation of a thermal bypass in party wall cavities (Lowe et al.
2007), a hitherto unrecognised heat loss mechanism that is now
recognised and incorporated into building regulation and the regulatory
national calculation methodology (SAP).

The Elm Tree Mews project (Bell et al. 2010) led on from the pivotal
work at Stamford Brook by applying and improving on the action research
approach. This project was funded by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation and
sought to explore the issues involved in constructing to a standard that
addressed the zero carbon trajectory set out by the Government in 2006.
It also enabled an exploration of modern off-site technology.
Significant underperformance was again observed not only in the fabric
but also in the configuration of a communal heat pump.

Collaboration in the Carbon, Comfort and Control project (EPSRC
funded) extended the scope of the group's work by addressing performance
gap issues involving controls, design and occupant behaviour associated
with heat pumps (Stafford 2011). Findings demonstrated the complex
interplay between the control of low carbon technologies, behaviour and
the performance of the envelope. The findings are being adopted by
manufacturers.

The group's work has continued with numerous subsequent projects designed
to improve understanding of performance (for example; Wingfield et
al.2009), enabling the group to continue to lead research into the
performance gap and shape industrial and government policy.

Details of the impact

The group's research has had major impacts in three areas: Building
Regulations: The group is at the forefront of regulatory
development, Bell served on the CLG's regulatory teams for the 2006 review
and following this, work at Stamford Brook (Wingfield et al. 2011), Elm
Tree Mews (Bell et al., 2010) and work funded by the Mineral Wool
Insulation Manufacturer's Association (MIMA — Wingfield et al., 2009)
highlighted, as never before, a performance gap that could undermine
regulation and the Government's 2016 zero carbon housing targets. Bell was
invited again, as convenor and technical author, to lead industry working
parties and advise ministers for both 2010 and 2013 reviews. The
contribution was recognised in a National Audit Office report (NAO, 2008)
and in evidence to the House of Commons Public Accounts Committee (PAC
2009) in addition to citations in the consultation documents for the 2010
(CLG 2009) and 2013 (CLG 2012) reviews. Crucially, the work on the party
wall thermal bypass (Wingfield et al., 2009 and Lowe et al., 2007) led to
regulatory change in 2010 to ensure bypasses were fully accounted for in
the national calculation methodology (SAP) and the Approved Documents (HM
Government, 2010). In addition, the government's Green Deal is set to
include party wall installation as an accredited improvement measure in
existing dwellings with cavity party walls. This will ensure that the
group's research will have application in both new build and existing
dwellings. Although the full carbon impact remains uncertain it is likely
that carbon savings could be in the millions of tonnes per year.

Low and zero carbon housing policy: Bell provides leadership on
the Zero Carbon Hub (ZCH) which, inter alia, cited performance gap studies
from the group (Bell et al. 2010) and was instrumental in providing the
clearest policy statement to date; over 90% of new dwellings
as-constructed should be zero carbon as verified by effective measurement
(ZCH 2011, recommendation 4a). Work is on-going through a
government/industry project to develop solutions (ZCH 2013) Bell is a
steering group member. In addition, Bell's membership of the DECC Expert
Measures Group advises on In-Use factors for DECC's Green Deal program
(driven largely by work at Leeds Met). The award of £526,800 to research
the Leeds Green Deal Pilot Project (led by Gorse and Stafford) shows
recognition by government. Further awards by TSB on their Building
Performance and Evaluation and Retrofit Programmes represent a significant
body of work (value in excess of £700,000 led by Johnston and Gorse) which
continue to identify methods of improving building performance and
efficiency.

The group's identification of the performance gap prompted the Technology
Strategy Board's (TSB) programme on Building Performance Evaluation (BPE)
which adopts the group's Co-heating Test protocol. This standard has also
been embraced by the IEA Annex 58 programme on whole building performance,
for which the group are leaders in whole house heat loss (see Johnston et
al. 2012). Thus the group is changing the way the construction industry
deals with as built energy efficiency internationally, as well as in the
UK.

The house building industry and manufacturers: The group advises
the Home Builders Federation and National Home Builders Council and
individual developers through the Good Homes Aliance, ZCH, TSB and DECC
programmes. Dissemination work through CPD (LowCarb4Real -Bell et al.
2009, Green Vision) has engaged hundreds of professionals over the last 4
years; over 150 were reached through the Green Visions program, and over
200 professionals attended meetings hosted by the group for the Leeds
Sustainability Institute, the IEA's annex 58 and the Association of
Researchers in Construction Management. As an indication of the wider
interest in the group's research the group website which provides details
on projects and their outputs was visited by over 5,300 unique visitors
between August 2012 and September 2013 whilst the Low Carbon Housing
Virtual Site developed by the group was visited almost 11,000 times.

Commissions from MIMA (Wingfield et al., 2009 and Bell, 2012) and
collaborations with Knauf have led to the development of products
specifically for the new insulation market in the party wall bypass worth
£millions. Research into heat pumps has resulted in manufacturers (IVT)
adopting new commercial control settings and providing guidance for
installers on how to size systems so as to improve efficiencies and reduce
householder bills (Stafford and Lilley., 2012). Thanks to the group's work
it is now accepted that failure to address the performance gap carries
significant commercial risks and undermines energy and carbon reduction
policy.

Sources to corroborate the impact

CLG (2009) Proposals for amending Part L and Part F of the Building
Regulations — Consultation, Reference number: 08BD 05287, June 2009,
London, Department for Communities and Local Government, ISBN:
978-1-4098-1532-7.

CLG (2012) 2012 consultation on changes to the Building Regulations
in England: Section two — Part L (Conservation of fuel and power).
January 2012 London, Department for Communities and Local Government,
ISBN: 978-1-4098-3324-6,